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Student Edge went behind the scenes with our own Dr Kathy Stark to find out what it takes to become a vet. You can watch the video above.

Blessing of the Pets

Annual event in September at St Peter’s Anglican Church in Palmyra – right next door to the clinic. All creatures great and small are welcome to attend this special service.

Events

Dog Show at South Fremantle Markets

George St Festival

Dr Aaron Healy helping out in remote communities of WA

Dr Aaron Healy has been on numerous voluntary trips to remote aboriginal communities in the Pilbara.
He has worked with local environmental health workers based in Port Hedland. This team service a large area as far inland as the Northern Territory border. One of their main jobs is looking after the population and health of the community dogs.
In many remote communities of Western Australia there are a large number of dogs. They are used for companionship, warmth, hunting, security and in some places spiritual ceremonies. Although this mainly occurs further north where ‘dog dreaming’ is customary.
In some communities the large dog populations (or numbers) can cause problems. The dogs become aggressive in packs, create a lot of noise at night fighting and can carry some disease. For example, scabies, worms, streptococcus (which has a very high incidence in aboriginal communities).
The aboriginal environmental health workers are trained to treat the dogs for parasites, inject the dogs with contraceptives and if needed euthanase the very sick or injured animals. They also play an important role in helping to raise animal welfare issues within the communities. Children benefit from learning responsible pet ownership and developing empathy for the dogs in their community. This also has wider implications for their own social development.

Not only is Aaron a fantastic veterinarian, as you can see he is also quite handy with the camera. This photo was a finalist in a national photography competition

Its all hands on board! Vaccinations, surgery and sterilisations are carried out in the field!

It appeared this dog had been in a fight with a large laceration around the neck that required surgery